Former prison guard gets 3 years in '08 fatal crash

Staff report

A former guard at the Illinois Youth Center in St. Charles was sentenced to three years in prison in a 2008 head-on collission that killed a St. Charles man, according to court records.

Reginald Hearon, 51, of Plano, pleaded guilty last year to reckless homicide and aggravated driving under the influence for the accident, which took place Oct. 2, 2008, on Fabyan Parkway west of Batavia, according to court records. On Tuesday, after several delays, Hearon was sentenced to three years in prison by Kane County Judge Karen Simpson, according to court records.

Hearon was under the influence of alcohol and codeine when he pulled his van around traffic to pass in a no-passing zone and struck an oncoming SUV being driven by Craig Smith, 53, who died at the scene.

Hearon was on his way to his job as a guard at the Illinois Youth Center when the accident took place. The center is a medium security facility for boys.